This month we presented to the centre leadership teams the results of the agreements signed with the publishers Wiley, Elsevier, Springer and ACS, which enable the entire CERCA community to publish in open access at no additional cost. These agreements also ensure reading access to a large share of the journals published by these editors.
Immediate impact: more publications and lower costs for research groups
Since the agreements came into force in May 2025, a total of 368 APCs (Article Processing Charges) have been approved, with an estimated cost of €1,346,653.99 absorbed by the agreements. This cost—often invisible but highly significant—relieves research teams of a burden that can influence the decision to publish in open access.
The uptake has continued to increase, and 139 prepaid APCs have already been approved this year, confirming that the CERCA community is progressively integrating these instruments into its regular activity.
The impact on reading is also notable. In 2025, researchers at CERCA centres downloaded 2,116,256 articles from journals included in the agreements.
- 368 APCs approved in 2025
- €1,346,653.99 estimated APC cost
- 2,116,256 articles downloaded
How do APCs work?
When the author submits an article, the journal automatically detects CERCA affiliation and offers the option to publish in open access through the transformative agreement. CERCA validates the request whenever credit is available.
If this option does not appear during the editorial process, the team simply needs to contact CERCA’s reference person for transformative agreements, who will provide guidance and resolve any issues.
Who can benefit?
The main requirement is that the person submitting the manuscript is the corresponding author and has an active CERCA affiliation. This model fosters more equitable access, particularly for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers who lead manuscripts but do not always have resources to cover APCs.
How to publish
If you want to publish in open access and contribute to open science, consult the list of journals and conditions, or contact us with any questions.
